Individual behavior is a significant indicator of malware risk, according to Allot Communications' latest MobileTrends report, released together with Kaspersky Lab.
Using a range of behavioral profiles, the report analyzes the correlation between mobile Apps and URLs usage and user potential for malware risk. Findings show that individual behavior is a significant and even decisive indicator of malware risk. The report goes on to suggest that CSPs are uniquely positioned to safeguard mobile users at risk with targeted Security-as-a-Service delivered from their network or cloud.
Among the key findings is that potential malware risk is affected both by the online behavior of the user and by the app or URL itself. In other words, it’s not just the app, it’s how you use it.
Business users display the riskiest online behavior. 79% of businessmen and 67% of businesswomen use potentially risky apps every day. Youth and millennials are also at high risk, with 65% of them using potentially risky apps every day.
While mobile app downloads are often protected, their ongoing use is not protected, making users vulnerable to malware threats
“Our MobileTrends findings clearly show that safeguarding users at the network level would be the most effective method for protecting against multiple types of mobile threats, as the security measures can provide a protective umbrella for all online activity,” said Yaniv Sulkes, associate vice president for marketing at Allot Communications.
“Moreover, mobile operators are perfectly positioned to provide protection to consumers and businesses. We see a golden opportunity for mobile operators to identify and reach out to customers at risk, targeting them with personalized Security-as-a-Service from their network or cloud.”
The research analyzed mobile data records from a random sample of 500,000 mobile users during a 7-day period and included Android, iOS and Windows Phone operating systems. The malware experts at Kaspersky Lab assigned categories to the top 500 URLs, while Allot categorized the top 500 apps in the sample and also classified each App and URL sample as “safe” or “risky.”
To determine the potential for malware risk, Allot correlated the online behavioral profiles identified in the previous previous report with the Apps and URLs that they use on a daily basis.